ILLINOIS METH CONTROL AND COMMUNITY PROTECTION ACT OFFERS GREATER PROTECTION TO CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES

Toxic materials used to produce methamphetamine are pictured above.

Landmark legislation signed into law this summer will
keep methamphetamine makers out of communities and in jail, helping to protect
children, families, farmers, and communities from the extraordinary dangers
of meth manufacture.

Senate Bill 562, known as the Methamphetamine Control and Community
Protection Act (MCCPA), was signed into law in August 2005 and took effect
30 days later. The bill was drafted by the Office of Illinois Attorney General
Lisa Madigan and sponsored by a bipartisan group of legislators.

Madigan proposed the MCCPA, which contains a major rewrite of
the state’s criminal laws dealing with meth, to group those laws together
and address the differences between methamphetamine and other drugs targeted
by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act.

Unlike other drugs that may be imported and then sold and abused
in the state, additional dangers arise because meth is also manufactured in
the state. Unfortunately, meth manufacture can cause just as much harm – sometimes
more harm – than its distribution and use. The MCCPA offers greater protection
to those who are most endangered by the manufacture of meth in Illinois, including
children, law enforcement, families, and entire communities in areas affected
by meth.

A key provision of the MCCPA is a new offense called Aggravated
Participation in Meth Manufacturing, a Class X Felony mandating jail time.

This new offense better protects children who are exposed to
the dangerous production of methamphetamine by ensuring mandatory jail time
for those who manufacture meth where children reside, are present, or are endangered
by meth making.

The new offense also addresses the dangers to families who live
in multi-unit dwellings where meth is produced. Under the bill, those who manufacture
meth in hotels, motels, apartment buildings, or condominiums also face mandatory
jail time.

In addition, the MCCPA protects communities by giving law enforcement
critical new tools to address the manufacture of meth, including a new offense
to deal with those who shop for, transport, or assemble meth making materials
other than pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, or anhydrous ammonia (materials already
covered by the law). Such materials would include, for example, lithium batteries,
camping fuel, paint thinner, drain cleaner, starter fluid, brake cleaner, and
gas additives.

The legislation also protects farmers, who often are endangered
by meth makers stealing anhydrous ammonia, a fertilizer. The legislation imposes
tougher penalties on those who steal anhydrous ammonia for the purpose of making
meth.

Madigan’s bill garnered support from the Illinois State
Police, the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, the Illinois Association
of Chiefs of Police, the Illinois Drug Enforcement Officers’ Association,
the Illinois Metropolitan Enforcement Group Commanders and Drug Task Force
Directors, the Illinois State’s Attorneys’ Appellate Prosecutor’s
Office, the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, and the Illinois
Academy of Family.